NORWEGIANS RUNNING OUT OF STEAM, EU MONITORS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001047
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM CE NO
SUBJECT: NORWEGIANS RUNNING OUT OF STEAM, EU MONITORS TO
LEAVE IN 30 DAYS
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead for reason 1.5 (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Tigers insist monitors from
EU-members states must leave, give 30-day window
for transition. Future of the monitoring mission
now extremely problematic, Norwegians will discuss
it with other Nordics on June 28. Tigers upset
about their treatment at Colombo airport while
returning from Oslo, which Norwegians felt
violated personal promise from President Rajapakse.
Tigers warn Government to stop air and artillery
attacks or face offensive action. Norwegians
have no plans for future peace initiatives at
this point, will concentrate on future of SLMM.
Norwegians more depressed than we have ever seen
them. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar briefed
Co-Chair Chiefs of Mission June 22. Brattskar had
been to LTTE headquarters in Kilinocchi the
previous day to discuss with the Tigers the future
of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM),
following the Tiger decision to no longer accept
monitors from EU nations after the EU listed the
LTTE as a terrorist organization. Brattskar said
that he had argued strenuously with the Tigers to
continue with the SLMM as currently constituted,
with nationals from non-EU Norway and Iceland, and
from EU members Sweden, Finland and Denmark.
Brattskar¥s interlocutor, LTTE Political Head
Tamilchelvan, adamantly refused, saying that the
"leadership had decided."


3. (C) Brattskar told the Tigers this would have
"immediate and dramatic consequences" for the work
of the SLMM. He asked for a six month transition
period. The Tigers would only agree to one month.
They agreed to start that one-month clock ticking
on June 28, when the SLMM contributor states will
meet in Oslo.


4. (C) Brattskar said that the next steps would
need to be discussed with the other SLMM members
and the Government of Sri Lanka. As mentioned
above, the Nordic countries would meet in Oslo on
June 28. He impressed upon the Tigers the need to
guarantee the safety and security of the monitors,
and also of their local Sri Lankan employees.
Brattskar said that the LTTE demand did not
require amending the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA),
since the relevant paragraph said only that SLMM
members would be "recruited from Nordic
countries." The two sides had agreed on which
countries in discussions after the CFA was signed.


5. (C) Brattskar said the future of the SLMM is
now uncertain. Norway and Iceland supply 20 of
the current 57 members. A 20-member mission would
simply not be able to do the job, placing the
ceasefire under greater strain. Recruiting new
countries acceptable to both parties to join the
mission would be problematic at best. "Who would
want to sign up?" in the current conditions,
Brattskar asked.


6. (C) Brattskar also said that the LTTE was very
upset about the way their team was treated at the
Colombo Airport when they returned from the recent
Oslo meeting. They were made to wait in the
public arrival hall for several hours while they
were processed through immigration and customs.
Brattskar said that this was a violation of a
promise that President Rajapaksa had made
personally to Minister Eric Solheim, which in turn
had persuaded the Tigers to attend the Oslo
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meeting. (Note: where they refused to meet with
the Government.) It was acceptable to make the
Tigers go through normal entry procedures,
Brattskar said; what was not acceptable was to
jeopardize their security by having them standing
in the midst of a large crowd for several hours.
The GSL had also tried to back away from its
commitment to return the LTTE delegation to
Kilinocchi by helicopter, but had eventually given
in after intense Norwegian pressure. Brattskar
doubted that the Tigers would agree in the future
to travel through the airport, making the
logistics of any future meetings even more
troublesome.


7. (C) On other matters, Brattskar said that the
Tigers continue to deny that they were responsible
for the recent bus attack, but had asked him to
pass a message to the Government that if air and
artillery attacks continued, the Tigers would
"take offensive action."


8. (C) Brattskar concluded that Norway has to
continue as facilitator, but had no conclusions
for the coming months except that they have a big
problem with the SLMM. They don¥t see any
initiatives to pursue in the current climate.
Brattskar himself was leaving the next day for a
month¥s leave in Norway--the longest he had been
away from the island in his four-year stint as
Ambassador.


9. (C) COMMENT: The Norwegians or at least
Ambassador Brattskar, seem to have run out of
steam, and appear resigned to go into a passive
mode while they sort out the future of the SLMM.
This may be a short-term downturn while they
gather their breath, but we have never seen them
so negative in three years here.
LUNSTEAD